Occupational Aspirations and Early Career-Choice Patterns of Adolescents with and without Learning Disabilities

The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) database was used to examine the influence of gender and learning disability status on the occupational aspirations and career-choice patterns of adolescents at grades 8 and 10. Results indicated that adolescents with learning disabilities displayed different career-choice patterns and strategies than their nondisabled peers at two points early in the career-exploration stage: Youth with learning disabilities were less likely to aspire to high-prestige occupations and were more likely to be indecisive about future occupational alternatives. Females with learning disabilities appeared to be at particularly high risk of setting limits on their occupational futures. In terms of career-choice patterns, nondisabled youth were more likely to identify occupations within a particular prestige level and remain consistent from grade 8 to grade 10. By comparison, youth with learning disabilities were more likely to express lower or indecisive aspirations in early adolescence and then report higher aspirations in mid-adolescence.